Brick-machine



(No Model.) 1 4 sheets-sheet 1.

W. ANDRUS.

BRICK MACHINE.

N0.,286,892. Patented'Oot. 16. 1883.

(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. ANDRUS.

` BRICK MACHINE.

' No. 286,892. Patented Oct. 16, 1883.

,galio rney.

N; PETERS. Pholudwgnphar, vlamingen. Dc.

(No Model.) 4 Sheetssheet 3.

' W. ANDRUS.

BRICK MACHINE.

No. 286,892. 5U Patented Oct. 16, 1883.

Willian@ ./n ra-s N. PETERS. mwmmgnpnu. wmingnm o. c;

(No Model.) 4 sheetssheet 4.

W. ANDRUS.

" y BRIGKMAGHINE.

No. 286,892. y Patented Dot. 16, 1883.

El.g. E .6.

To @ZZ L11/wm, it may concern:

, therein to the accompanying drawings.

UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE.

WILLIAM ANDRUSfOF KEOKUK, IOVA.

Y BRlCK-AM ACI-HNE.

[SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,892, dated October16, 1883.

Applicationfiled Septexn Beit known that I, NVTLLIAM ANDEUs, a citizenof the United States, residing at Keokuk, in the county of Lee and Stateof Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBrick-Machines, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had My invention relates vto improvements in what are known asdry-clay brick-machines, and is designed as an improvement on that classof machines for which Letters Patent were granted to me November 14,1882, No. 267,392. s

The object of my invention is to dispense with the rotary mold-wheel, asembraced in my patent heretofore referred to, for the reason that itconsumes an unnecessary amount of time and power in the frequentstopping and starting of the mold-wheel, in order that the plungers canbe brought into play, and also to locate as much as possible allbearings and axles at one side and not under the mold, whereby the dirtand grit is not so liable to get into the bearings and axles., andobviate in a great measure the rapid wearing and loosening of the parts.

My invention consists in a lever of peculiar construction, to which therods for operating the upper and lower compression-plungers are secured,said lever being operated to throw the rods past the point at which theyproduce the greatest pressure on the brick, thus momentarily relievingthe brick from pressure, by the slight withdrawal of the plungers inorder to permit of the escape of air from the brick and mold, thenreturning the rods back to the point of greatest compressiomwhereby thebricks have two separate and distinct pressures given to them, and aninterval of rest to permit the escape of air, and thus produce a brickuniform and homogeneousin all y its parts.

My invention consists, further, in providing the connections lof theunder pressureplunger with slots which admit of the plunger beingcarried up by means of a pivoted and adjustable arm or lever, to expelthe newlyformed brick from the mold and hold the plunger in an elevatedposition until the brick has been removed, the upper surface of thebcr17, 151.83. (No model.)

plunger oiled, and the mold-filler brought into position for depositingthe clay in the mold.

AMy invention consists, further, in providing a measure or mold-llingdevice which is capable of being adjusted to meet the requirements ofthe different kinds of clay, and also to regulate the amount of clay formaking bricks of different sizes. v

My invention consists, further, in so tim-l ving the movement of themold-filling device that it shall have a short period of rest whenbrought over the mold-cavity, in order that the clay will havesufficient time to fall into the mold-cavity.

My invention consists, further, in certain details of construction whichwill be more fully described and claimed hereinafter.

lFigure 1 is a side elevation of my improved brick-machine. Fig. 2 is anend view. Fig.

3 is a sectional view on the line :tm of Fig. 1. i

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line y y of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is asectional view of the feed or clay hopper, mold-filling` boxes, cut-off,and carriage, taken on the line z e of Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is an end view ofthe clay-hopper and moldilling devices. Fig. 7 is atop or plan view ofthe clay-hopper, showing the oiling brush or cylinder and the scraperfor cleaning and oiling the pressing-surface of the upper plunger. Fig.S is a sectional view of the lower plunger, showing the oiling ducts orpassages. Fig. 9 is a sectional side view of the upper plunger. Fig. 10is a top or plan view of the eccentric-lever which operates the upperand lower plungers.

Referring to the drawings, AA are the castings which form the sides ofthe machine, and are secured to a suitable base, so as to give strengthand rigidity to the machine, while the sides A are connected together orbraced able by suitable set-screws, serve to eompensate Vfor the wear onthe plunger-heads, andl IOO e' cocasse keep them in proper alignmentwith the moldcavity and in good working condition.

B is the upper and B is the lower compression-plunger, which areoperated by devices which will be fully described hereinafter.

C C are the molds, which are rigidly secured between the side frames, A,and to one side of which is secured a plate or table, G, which serves asa bottom and also as a guide for the mold-filling box.

C2 is a table secured to the frame on the opposite side of the molds, onwhich the finished brick is pushed by the forward movement of themold-filler. f

D D are rods, which connect the upper plunger with the operating-leverE, and F F are bars or links, which connect the lower plunger with thesame operating-lever.

E is the main operating lever, which is mounted eccentrically in thesupports G, said supports being stayed or connected to the main frame orsides of the machine by the wings H. The lever E is essentially of thesame construction as the lever shown, described, and claimed in mypatent heretofore referred to, and is operated in substantially the samemanner. As before stated, the lever E is mounted in the supports G onthe trunnions c, which are cast or otherwise secured to the brackets d,forming a part of said lever. The outer end of said lever is providedwith a slot, I, through which a pitinan, e, passes, said pitman beingprovided with a friction-wheel, f. The outer ends of the pitman or boltc are secured to the cog-wheels K, each cog-wheel K being supported onseparate axles g and hf, mounted in the frame and in'the standards L andM, so as to permit the lever to pass up and down between them in theirrevolution, thus raising and lowering the outer end of the lever.

The cog-wheels K K are driven bypinionwheels I I', mounted on the maindrivingshaft D.

The inner end ofthe lever E is of peculiar construction, and is mountedor pivoted eccentrically, as shown. The bars D, which connect the upperplunger with the lever E, are pivotally secured to the lower edge ofsaid lever at i', while the rods or links which connect the lowerplunger with the lever E are similarly secured to the upper edge of thelever at i.

It will be seen that by depressing the outer end of the lever E, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. l, the plunger B will be depressed and theplunger B will be raised to press and compact the clay within the molds.

It will be noticed that when the links and rods D and F lie in the samevertical line the point of' greatest compression has been reached, andby a further depression of the outer end of the lever E the rods arethrown beyond the vertical line, thus slightly and momentarilyrelieving` the partially -formed brick from the pressure of theplungers, which permitsv the air to escape from the mold, and

that by the upward movement of lever E the same point of greatestcompression is again reached, and the brick subjected to a second andnal pressure, which has the effect of pro` ducing a very rm, compact,and well-formed brick, which will not be liable to crack inthe processof burning.

The brick having been formed by the operation of the devices justdescribed, I will now proceed to describe the devices by which the brickis ejected from the mold.

N is a bent lever,one end of which is pivoted to a screw-bolt, K, andadapted to be adjusted up and down in the bracket O. The lever N, bymeans of the plates m, is secured to the bolt Z, by which the lowerplunger is connected to the links or bars F, tvhile the free end of thelever N projects over into the path of the cam u, secured to the shafto, and by which it is raised, carrying with it the lower plunger, whichejects the brick from the mold, the slots p in the links or bars Fpermitting this further. upward movement ofthe plunger.

It will be noticed that the upper and lower plunger in their upwardmovement move together, holding the newly-formed brick between themuntil the brick is out of the mold, when the upper plunger readily partsfrom the brick without distorting, blistering, or injuring it, as is thecase when the plungers are withdrawn from the brick while in the mold,the damage being done by the force of suction, as is well known.

The lever N is raised with the lower plunger by the links or bars Funtil the compression on the brick has been exerted, when the cam ncomes in contact with the inner end of the lever N, and raises the lowerplunger up to the top of the mold, and holding it there until themold-iiller has taken its position over it, when the bar N is releasedfrom the upward pressure o f the cam by coming in contact with thereverse or concave side of said cam, and the lower plunger is permittedto return to the bottom of the mold, while the clay from the mold-fillerfollows the plunger down and fills the mold-cavity evenly and uniformly.That portion of the cam n from l to 2 raises the end of the lever andthe lower plunger to the top of the mold, and while the lever N istraversing the portion of the cam from 2 to 3 the plunger B is held in astate of rest while the mold-filler is making its forward movement,which pushes the newly-made brick on to the table C2, and scrapes andoils the upper surface of the lower plunger, as will more fully appear.

I will now proceed to describe the moldfilling devices.

P is the hopper, into which the iinely-powdered and disintegrated clayis placed, while Q is the measure or mold-filling box, adapted to beslid back and forth on ways underneath and in close proximity to thebottom of the hopper. The ller Q is provided with an extension, R, whichcloses the bottom of the hopper during the forward movement of the IOOIIO

rig,

, changed to suit the different qualities of clay face of the upperplunger.

mold-filler, thus preventing the escape of clay l from the hopper.

The mold-filler Q is composed of two square or rectangular frames ofdifferent sizes, so that one will fit within the other, and adapted tobe adjusted therein by means of slots and setscrews, or by otherconvenient means, so that the holding capacity of the mold-filler can beor to measure the clay for bricks of different sizes. This is animportant feature of my invention and one of great practical utility,.asI am enabled at all times to put the exact quantity of clay in the mold,and an over or under charge of clay, which is more or less injurious tothe pressing mechanism, is obviated, and as a result bricks of uniformsize and density are produced. The hopper P is also made adjustable toconform to the adjustment of the ller-box by means of slots q, andscrew-bolts r, secured in the frames or sides A of the machine. p

To the front end of the mold-filling box Qis secured a knife or scraper,s, which pushes the newly-formed brick from off the lower plunger andremoves any clay which may have adhered thereto, while an oiling-pad, t,located in the rear of the scraper s, serves to oil the upper surface ofthe lower plunger.

a u are spring-arms, secured to the sides of the mold-filler, inrwhichis secured the lubricating or oiling roller o, and scraper w, forcleaning andoiling the lower or pressing sur- The spring-arms arebeveled at their front ends, so they will slide under the upper plungerin its upward movement, and by the force or tension ef the spring-armsbeheld against the plunger until the back-and-forth movement of the iillerhas been made.

To the rear end of the lling box or boxes Q is secured a bar, S, whichin turn is'secured to a bent lever, T, the lower end of which eneirclesthe shaft It, and is held in position by means of a collar, a, which issecured to the shaft h by a set-screw. The lever T is provided with ananti-friction stud or projection, which engages with a` cam-slot, c',formed in the side of the pinion-wheel V. said pinionwheel being drivenby a spur-wheel, cl, on the main driving-shaft D. j

The operation of moving the mold-filler forward to deposit the clay inthe mold and return it again for a fresh charge of clay is effected bymeans ofthe cam-groove c', acting on the stud b of the lever T, theoperation of which I will -now describe in detail.

While the stud b of the lever T is traversing that portion of thecam-groove between the points l and 5, the mold-filler is thrown forwardover thev mold-cavity, and in traversing the cam-groove from 5 to 6 thenlold-ller is at a state of rest. The lower plunger now takes its placein the bottom ofthe moldcavity. This momentary pause of the moldjillerpermits the clay to fall into and fill the mold in a uniform manner. Thefiller is now returned to its former position by the stud traversing thespace in 'the cam-groove between the points 6 and 7, and while the studis traversing the remaining portion of the cam-groove c the filler-boxremains under the hopper and receives its charge ,of clay. i

I have already described the devices by which the pressing-faces of theplungers are cleaned and lubricated. Iwill now describe the devices bywhich the sides of the mold are lubricated.

The lower plunger, B', is provided with ducts or passages c, which leadfrom the exterior of the plunger up to and under the pressure-plate E.That portion of the plunger und'er the pressure-plate is provided withgrooves f, which radiate from the ducts or passages' e to a peripher. lgroove or cavity, g', in which is placed cotton waste or otheroil-absorbing packing. The ducts e are connected by a rubber tube, or inany other suitable manner, to an oil-reservoir or other suitable sourceof supply. By this arrangement it will beseen that the interior of themolds will be most thoroughly and uniformly lubricated, both in theupward and downward movement of the plunger, and the brickwill bereadily ejected from the mold, and have clear and well-defined cornersand edges.

W is a belt-pulley mounted on shaft F", to the outer end of which issecured a frictiondrum, G, which imparts motion to the maindriving-wheel H on the shaft D. Thefriction-d-rum is mounted inbearings, so it can be readily thrown .in and out of contact with thewheel H', and by this means the machine can be readily started andstopped.

I do not confine myself to the exact devices shown and described forimparting power to the machine, asthese may be varied in a number ofways which will suggest themselves to the skilled mechanic.

It will be observed that the sides A are pro- ICO IIO

vided with extended portions A2, which project j toward the front of themachine, and in which the main driving-shaft, the auxiliary shafts,together with the pinion and gear-wheels are located. By thisarrangement these parts above mentioned are brought away .from under thehopper and the mold, and are vless liable to become choked or affectedby the dirt.

and 'grit falling upon them.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. A brick-machine having upper and lower compression-plungers, operatedby devices, substantially such as described, to impart to said plungerstwo pressure movements and a slight releasing or withdrawing movement,which is exerted between the pressure movements, whereby the airconfined within the mold and within the clay is permitted to escape, asset forth.

2. In a brick-machine of the character described, the lowercompression-plunger, adapted to be carried up to eject the brick 'fromthe mold, and lie-momentarily held in the elevated position by means ofthe adjustable level N, operated upon by means of the cam n, as and forthe purpose set forth.

3. In a brick-machine, the lower compression-plunger, provided with theslotted links or rods F, which connect the plunger with theoperating-lever, in combination with the pivoted and adjustable lever N,and the cam u, whereby when the requisite pressure has been exerted onthe brick the lower plunger will be carried up to eject the brick fromthe mold, as set forth.

4. The combination of the cam a, lever N, and plunger B, with thecam-groove, constructed as described, arm T, bar S, moldiiller Q,scraper s, and oilingpad t, whereby the lower plunger is raised to thetop of the mold, the newly-formed brick removed, the top of the plungeroiled and scraped, and the mold-filler brought into the desiredposition.

5. The combination of the mold-hller Q, bar S, lever T, and stud b, withthe cam-groove c', constructed substantially as described, whereby themold-filler is pushed over the mold-cavity and held there for a shorttime, until the clay has fallen into the mold-cavity, as set forth.

6. In devices for measuring clay for making brick, the mold-filler Q,composed of two sections adapted to be adjusted one within the other,whereby the holding capacity of said mold-filler is reduced or enlargedat will, as set forth.

7. An adjustable mold-filler of the character described, in combinationwith a clay-receiving hopper, which is also adjustable to meet therequisite adjustment of the moldfiller, as and for the purpose setforth.

8. The mold-filler adapted to slide forward over the mold-cavity, andprovided with the scraper w and oiling-roll o, in combination with thepivoted arm T and cam-wheel V, whereby the lower face of the upperplunger is scraped and oiled in its upward movement, as and for thepurpose set forth.

9. The mold-iiller Q, adaptedto be moved forward over Ythe mold-cavity,in combination with the spring-arms u, scraper w, and oiler v, as andfor the purpose set forth.

10. The lower plunger, B', provided with the oil-duct c', leading upunder the pressureplate E, and connecting with the radial cavities f andperipheral grooves g, in which is placed an oil-absorbing packingmaterial, in combination with a suitable oil-supply or oilreservoir, asand for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

XVILLIAM ANDRUS.

W'itnesses:

H. 0. VHITNEY, PETE T. MCCRECHI.

